Athletic departments are no strangers to crisis management. Athletes, coaches, fans, and boosters can do some remarkably stupid things. But what do you do when the unimaginable happens? When two of your athletes are arrested for MURDER?!! Talk about PR nightmares! :O
This is the situation facing Montana State. Basketball player Branden Miller and football player John LeBrum have been implicated in the murder of Jason Wright, who is also suspected of having been a cocaine dealer.
Here are the things that are going right:
1. Montana State President Geoff Gamble is writing a letter explaining the University’s positions that will go to students, parents, alumni, faculty, and staff. A suggestion would be to have the president be the primary spokesperson in this situation to make sure that there is one consistent message being presented and that it is credible and reliable. It is also important in this situation that the president is transparent about everything that is going on to the students, alumni, and the media. The president would also do well to make sure that he makes himself available and approachable to all target audiences involved– personal interactions can go a long way in a crisis situation like that.
2. The University is undertaking a review of recruiting and other practices that may have led to the crisis. The review will include an examination of campus safety and drugs on campus.
3. Student-athletes will receive a cover letter from the Athletic Director, along with the President’s letter, to strengthen communication within the athletic department. Student-athletes in this situation can be used as ambassadors to some degree to present a stable and proactive image to the public. Student-athletes can show that the athletic department and university are doing proactive measures to make sure that the internal communications are stable during this crisis.
4. MSU’s website will provide updates about the case. This is huge because it allows outsiders to have plenty of information and the university is showing that they want to be open and transparent to the public about this situation. The worst thing that MSU could have done is not be open or provide any updates on the case.
So far, so good. But much of this may not have been necessary if MSU had acted ealier and more forcefully. Here are some of the problems the university had already faced:
1. In September 2005, an MSU basketball player was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl.
2. In 2004, an assistant head football coach was sentenced to 4 years in prison for participating in a methamphetamine ring.
3. Eight MSU students had earlier this year been charged as running a campus drug ring.
4. LeBrum had a previous conviction for breaking another man’s jaw in a fight in 2005. He had been dismissed from the football team for “disciplinary reasons” in 2004, but he still remained at school.
If we start accepting the idea that sports figures just do more crime than other people, and that it is okay for them as long as they are good athletes or coaches, we shouldn’t be surprised with what we get.
Last week, Connecticutt’s Marcus Williams seemed surprised to drop in the NBA draft to the #22 pick by the New Jersey Nets. After all, he “only” was convicted of stealing laptops from fellow students at the University. Two of the computers belonged to members of the U Conn women’s basketball team. Yeah, you want teammates like this. :S His blog reports that he’s had to “overcome a lot.” Hmmm…. My guess is that the poor students whose lives were seriously impacted by Williams’ stealing were the ones who had to “overcome a lot.” He’s an instant millionaire and he can afford a 100 computers by now! So, why did he steal them? Probably because he thought that he was an athlete and that he could get away with it. It’s scary to think what else has happened and didn’t get reported on. Students lost what may be the most expensive thing they own, not to mention the personal stuff on it.
We all saw Marcus Vick of Virginia Tech deliberately stomp on the leg of a downed competitor (see the video here if you missed it), but it looks like he will be playing pro ball, too. Of course, in an earlier season, VT head football coach Frank Beamer was also shown on national TV hitting one of his players in the head. The acorn doesn’t usually fall too far from the tree. Not exactly the role model or image a university wants to have.
Sports News outlets have taken to referring to these instances as “character issues” instead of what it is–antisocial behavior. Maybe these incidents are happening so often that we’re just getting accustomed to them. I do think there is more tolerance for pro athlete misbehavior than collegiate athlete wrongdoing. College athletics seems more innocent to a lot of people, although that is probably an illusion. We have this image of these athletes to be “picture perfect” and we are completely shocked when they are not. There is a lot of stuff that happens inside that the public doesn’t see.
It will be interesting to see just how far the public goes before its patience wears out. Student-athletes and professional athletes need to be aware that they are not just athletes, but entertainers. They are public figures who are living under a microscope and watched by millions of fans and the media. Athletes need to be extra careful in what they do in their personal lives and when they wear their team uniforms.
Maybe in the future, athletes will be expected to follow the same laws as the rest of us. 🙂
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